Termite Swarming Season

April 11, 2017

The spring and summer times are usually associated with warmer weather, the sun shining, and fun outdoor activities. The birds are chirping, the flowers are blooming and all seems right with the world. It’s the season for cleaning and baseball, but it’s also the season for termites. The spring and summer are also known as swarming season for termites. Swarming season is just as bad as it sounds and can do some serious harm to your house and your wallet. I’m going to talk about what swarming season is and how you can prevent damage to your home.

To begin with, there are two main types of termites in South Florida, drywood termites, and subterranean termites. There are other types, but we’re just going to focus on these two since most other termites fall into one of these two categories. For a quick recap, drywood termites infect the actual wood of a house by creating holes and tunnels in the wood. They burrow inside and basically hollow out the wood. Some signs of drywood termites are bubbles in the paint where the termites have burrowed, fecal droppings, and hollowed wood. Subterranean termites are different because, as the name suggests, they live underground. They do not eat wood in order to survive. They need wet, moist ground so they can dig tunnels underneath a house. They use mud tunnels to travel and you can see these mud tunnels on the outside of your house. Both types of termites are destructive and not good for your house.

Swarming season is a fit name because you’ll know when it’s swarming based on the swarms of termites flying around. This is the time of year when winged termites leave their colonies in search of mates and new nesting grounds, a.k.a. your home. Termites are attracted to light so if you see a swarm of bugs around an outside light then you might want to make a call to your local Nozzle Nolen for a free inspection. Swarming season usually starts in March and goes until September. However, because south Florida has generally warm weather all year round, swarming season can start as early as February and go until November. As wacky as Florida weather is, it’s hard to tell when the season starts, but you’ll have a good idea when the weather is getting warm. It’s hard to tell exactly when, during the day, termites’ swarm. Some species swarm in the late evening, some swarm during the night and others swarm during the day. If you seem swarms of bugs at any time, it could be a termite swarm.

Just a reminder, it’s estimated that termites do over $5 billion worth of damages to homes in the U.S. every year. An infestation can spread quickly and do serious damage to your house. You should call the friendly professionals at Nozzle Nolen as soon as you start to see signs of an infestation, such as mud tubes on the outside of the house, swarms of termites, blisters in paint, and detached wings from swarmer termites. Nozzle Nolen will give you a free inspection and can take care of any problem you have, quickly and effectively.